A vehicle subassembly obtains a prospective component for use in the vehicle subassembly. The vehicle subassembly also obtains from a certification authority a certification that an authentic component is associated with a cryptographic key. The certification certifies that the cryptographic key is bound to information identifying the authentic component. The vehicle subassembly utilizes the cryptographic key obtained from the certification authority in cryptographic communication with the prospective component, and determines whether the prospective component is the authentic component based on whether the cryptographic key is successfully utilized in the cryptographic communication.